Nebraska women’s basketball sharpshooter Logan Nissley is heading into her senior year with a new perspective and appreciation for the game after learning the importance of understanding mental health.
The senior guard spent the beginning of her career losing sleep over thoughts she’d miss her alarm, moving in and out of the starting lineup and battling injuries.
“I would just go back to my room, like, ‘I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine,’” Nissley told Hail Varsity. “People were like, ‘Go talk to someone.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, but that means I have a problem,’ and that’s just how I thought of it.”
Nissley took her inner circle’s advice, however. She underwent foot surgery following her freshman season, then began meeting with Nebraska’s director of sports psychology, Brianna Ward.
“My biggest thing with her was just I got so anxious and so worried and so sad about basketball,” Nissley said. “It was like basketball’s a game, I’m not a basketball player. I play basketball, but my identity is so much more than basketball. I feel like when we really started to dive into that is when my relationship with basketball got better and stronger. My relationship with myself and the people around me and life outside of that have just gotten so much better ever since.”
That perspective helped Nissley find more joy in the game. She said her younger self would be proud.
“To her it was just basketball, and to me it’s my friends, my teammates, my coaches,” Nissley said. “Now it’s my lifestyle, of just I go to the gym every day and I get to hang out with my best friends and I get to play a sport. I get to throw an orange ball into a hoop. It’s just so much fun, and when I changed my perspective of thinking of it like that, obviously there are some days where your body hurts and you don’t want to go to practice, but those days have gotten way less and less and less.”
Logan Nissley (2) makes a 3-point basket against the Maryland Terrapins on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, in Lincoln, Nebraska. Photo by John S. Peterson.
Last season, Nissley helped guide Nebraska to a 19-13 overall record and its third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.
“For me, there was no doubt that I was staying,” Nissley said of returning. “I love it here. I have loved the whole process. Obviously, there are ups and downs with everything, but there was no doubt in my mind.”
As a junior, Nissley averaged 8.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists. The Bismarck, N.D., native also made 65 3-pointers in 2025-2026, bringing her career total to 179. This puts her in sixth place all time at Nebraska.
The senior will look to build off that as she is one of seven returners for Nebraska heading into the 2026-27 season. She said that after their decisions were made, the core seven came together to set the team’s standard.
The group met at Nissley’s apartment and made a poster of the team’s criteria for 2026-27. Nissley said it included phrases such as loud communication, hyping each other up and embracing the hard.
“Embracing the hard just kind of looks different for everyone,” Nissley said. “Obviously we have Allison (Weidner) coming back from an injury, Natalie (Potts) coming back from an injury, but then it’s also for those that aren’t coming back from an injury. Just getting in the weight room can be hard. Getting up on days where your body’s super sore, just all of that kind of stuff.”
The team then shared that standard with their new teammates when they arrived. They began practice in June and started developing a connection.
Logan Nissley (2) drives to the basket against Northwestern State forward Dasia Turner (23) on Monday, November 3, 2025, in Lincoln, Nebraska. Photo by John S. Peterson.
“We’re super gritty, super competitive,” Nissley said. “Everybody just really wants to be here and wants to win. I think that’s just the most important thing about this team is that we’re all just really bought in.”
They will continue practicing and preparing for the upcoming year. Nebraska opens its season with an exhibition game against Wayne State on October 23.
“Just taking every moment and not taking anything for granted, I think, is my number one thing,” Nissley said of her goals this season. “I want to be where my feet are, and then obviously just win as much as possible.”
As Nissley embarks on what could be her final year of college basketball, she said she hopes people remember her for all the good she’s done in her time with the Big Red.
“I want to be looked at as a light in people’s life,” Nissley said. “I was that kid that came in and was like ‘basketball, basketball, basketball,’ and it’s so much more than that.”
For more on Nissley’s journey, check out her exclusive interview with Ana Bellinghausen on the Hail Varsity YouTube channel.
